Report: Procter & Gamble pulls out of major cancer initiative with NFL

In recent years, the NFL has become synonymous with Breast Cancer Awareness Month every October.

Players across the league can be seen donning pink shoes, towels, wrist bands and socks, the field and footballs are adorned with the cause’s pink ribbon — heck, even the coin used for the opening coin toss is pink — and fans can even buy pink NFL gear to support the cause.

But now, after several off-field incidents involving players and domestic violence, at least one major sponsor who planned to partner with the NFL on its breast cancer awareness initiative has reportedly decided to pull out.

Article continues below ...

As CBS Sports reports, Procter & Gamble has backed out of a "significant, league-wide" campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The campaign — sponsored through the company’s Crest brand — was going to include "multiple players" on each of the league’s 32 teams, with one player being deemed an official "ambassador" of the initiative. Players would have worn pink mouthguards and interacted with fans on social media as part of the campaign.

Now, those players have been informed the program has been completely cancelled, the reports states.

The company also informed the players that money slated to be contributed to cancer charities as part of the campaign would still be donated, but otherwise the campaign is a no-go, the report states.

Earlier Thursday, Pepsi became the latest sponsor to publicly express displeasure with the NFL and its recent handling of domestic violence cases involving players, following Anheuser-Busch, McDonald’s, Visa and Campbell Soup Co.